Boys soccer: Ramos' relief effort in goal earns Mundelein tie

What's the best relief when you lose your starting goalkeeper?

For Mundelein, it was calling on field player Erick Ramos. He stepped between the posts for the final 19 minutes on Tuesday and made 3 saves, helping the Mustangs earn a 1-1 draw against host Glenbrook South in an opening-round match of the Titans' invitational in Glenview.

"It was kind of scary at first with what happened, to be honest," Ramos said. "I'm really not used to be playing goalie."

Ramos was called into service after the Mustangs (1-0-1) lost their starting keeper to a red card. They had to play the rest of the match with 10 players.

Ramos made an unbelievable hand-touch save on a ball going to the upper 90 off a free kick just outside the box. About 15 minutes later, he deflected a volley in front of the goal.

"Before they set up on the free kick, there was a gap in the wall," Ramos said. "I saw where the ball was going to go before he even shot it. I just dove where it was going."

The Mustangs had to keep their composure after losing their keeper.

"I've got some mixed feelings about it," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "Obviously there are some things that we need to work on. I thought Glenbrook South played really well in the second half. I told the guys at half the host wanted to defend their own turf and in their own tournament. We got sloppy for five minutes. But once we got that red card, I was proud of the effort out of our boys."

Mundelein got on the board first in the 26th minute, when Camden Kowalski scored on a free kick that deflected off the Titans' wall and into the back of the net.

Glenbrook South (1-0-2) evened the score at 1-1 in the 41st minute. Drew Maytum knocked in a header off a service from Danny Sergiev.

"We felt like we should have taken advantage (playing against 10 players)," Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said. "We were knocking on the door, but we weren't able to put the ball into the back of the net. That field player that was switched to keeper had some outstanding saves. Hats off to him. I thought that was the difference."

Glenbard West 4, Stevenson 3: At Glenbrook South, Stevenson had to play catch-up in its tournament opener.

The loss dropped the Patriots to 2-1 on the season.

"That's why we're always in this tournament, to figure things out," Stevenson coach Mark Schartner said. "We thought we were very good after two games. I knew that we had a lot of things to work out and we got exposed a little bit. This will eat at our guys the entire season. They will remember every minute of this, and this game will pay dividends down the road."

Stevenson got goals from Rei Kubota, Ben Dixon and Evan Paldrmic. Anthony Skordilis had a pair of assists.

Glenbard West (2-1) was led by Jesus Meza's hat trick and 1 assist. Oscar Berun had the other Hilltoppers goal.

"We have some things to work on with the defense, some things that we struggle on," Glenbard West coach Maciej Kusmierz said. "We just have to keep our composure. We work with our players to execute (in the attack)."